Exterior view from the southeast.
Credit: David Joyal.
Detail of the third archivolt, which has 31 front-facing figures wearing crowns and holding vials and musical instruments. These attributes identify them as the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, althogh aesthetic and architectural factors required the increase in their number to 31.
Credit: Holly Hayes.
The outer archivolt of the south portal is the most interesting of the four, densely populated with mythical beasts and hybrid creatures. Many derive from the medieval Bestiary, in which real and mythical animals were given symbolic and moral meanings...
Credit: Holly Hayes.
The 12th-century south portal. It has no tympanum, but the four archivolts are alive with sculpture. From a distance the sculpture forms a repetitive pattern, providing a pleasing visual rhythm. But closer inspection reveals that the pattern is actually a procession of fascinating figures - human, animal, and somewhere in between...
Credit: Holly Hayes.
Detail of the upper facade over the south portal.
Credit: Holly Hayes.
The two middle archivolts of the south portal are supported by atlantes figures, which can only be seen from below (standing in the doorway). The outermost figures have been given extra-large hands for their task.
Credit: Holly Hayes.
Detail of the third archivolt, which has 31 front-facing figures wearing crowns and holding vials and musical instruments. These attributes identify them as the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, althogh aesthetic and architectural factors required the increase in their number to 31.
Credit: Holly Hayes.